


Home Entertainment

by EndoratheWitch



Category: Goofy: How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Retail, Based on Goofy short: How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, Break Up Aftermath, F/M, First Date, First Meetings, Human AU, entertainment center, giant tvs, spending a lot of money
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 04:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14729643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndoratheWitch/pseuds/EndoratheWitch
Summary: After Bog's ex-girlfriend takes everything he owns, he finally decides to spend some money on himself.





	Home Entertainment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HysteriaRogers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HysteriaRogers/gifts).



> prompt from hysteria-rogers  
> This is a thank you gift for a kind gift.

Bog took a deep breath through his nose as he plopped down in his loveseat and stared blankly at his tiny tv, the only think his ex-girlfriend had left him. Things had been bad between them for awhile and he had been ready to ask her to leave for weeks, but somehow he never had. He wasn’t sure why; guilt maybe or the fact that every time he was home she was gone and he had been happy to have the house to himself. There were a lot of excuses for why he had waited so long, but the day he came home from work and found everything he owned gone....he had wanted to go out and find her right away and wring her neck..she had taken everything!!! Not just her things, she took EVERYTHING. His books that he knew she didn’t care about--most of which he had owned before he had ever met her--and his clothing! His one good suit, his video games, his guitar, even his family photos. She had taken things that Bog knew she didn’t even care about...all she had left him was this beat up ugly green armchair and an old TV that was at least ten years old with no picture, but it did have sound and had been sitting in the garage forever, one of those things he always meant to throw out yet hadn’t. Four years of his life, just disappeared with the heartless harpy who had stolen his heart...and now she took everything else from him. 

The worst part of all of it was the note she had left: “You are a hideous, clingy, over sentimental goof. No one will ever love you. Tammy.” 

Bog had stared at the note...and with that Tammy had taken the last of his self-confidence with her along with everything he owned. 

Bog sighed again. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t gone after her for his stuff. He hadn’t even called the cops. He had just let it go. The only thing he did afterwards was to buy a mattress which he threw onto the floor. He supposed he believed his ex at least partly; that he was too hideous to love, too sentimental...just too...nothing. He was nothing. So Bog had done nothing. 

That had been almost six months now...maybe more...he wasn’t sure since he had come home to find everything he owned gone. He had just focused on work, working a lot of overtime so that he would just come home and flop down onto the mattress, sleep and start again. His mother was worried about him, worried he was becoming a hermit, but Bog found himself simply not caring. 

Today though, he actually had a day off. He had tried to get some overtime just so he wouldn’t have to come home, but there hadn’t been any. His boss had actually put an arm around Bog’s shoulders. 

“Son, you need to do something besides work. Go home, watch the game or something.” 

So here he was--home, alone in his empty house. 

For whatever reason Bog had the TV on, the sound playing in the background made the house feel less empty he supposed. He was dressed in his favorite jeans, a pair that fit him well (something with his slim build and towering height was hard to find), and a t-shirt that he wasn’t sure if he had washed. He had his legs spread out, looking as if he would pour from the chair to the floor any minute as he stared at the cracked television. A bizarre radio, that’s what the tv had become. 

He pushed himself up. It was Sunday, a day on which he would have typically watched the game, but he hadn’t watched a game in months since his ex had taken everything he owned. He hadn’t cared and he had been making sure he wasn’t home anyway. Bog wrinkled his long nose and walked over to the kitchen, pulled open the fridge door and grabbed a bottle of beer. He wandered over to the living room window after opening the beer, just casually looking outside. He was about to take a drink from the can of beer, but stopped, staring with a frown as he saw a delivery truck pull up in front of Theo and Stephanie's house. 

The white and purple truck labeled “Primrose Entertainment Megacenter” had two men carrying out a box marked “flat screen 4k television.” The box had to be at least five feet long and three feet high. Bog stared as he contemplated the fact that TV’s that big existed. 

For a moment Bog just stared, watching the two men carry the box up the walk as Theo (or Thang as he liked to go by) held the door open for the deliver men. 

Slowly Bog grinned as he sipped his beer. He could do that...he had more than enough money to buy himself a huge ass TV and watch the game like he had never watched it before...he took another sip and thought to himself. Why the Hell not? 

Bog’s smile widened...yeah...why the Hell not? 

* 

Bog pulled his black and gold 1978 AMC Concord into the parking lot of Primrose Entertainment Megacenter, his eyes widening. The place was HUGE. He parked the car and climbed out to lean on his car and stare. The place had an almost futuristic look, which he hadn’t counted on with a name like Primrose. 

Bog grinned just a little as he set off through the parking lot and up to the store, his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. He had even made the effort to put on a clean blue t-shirt and a pair of his less scraped up biker boots. He felt pretty good; this would be the first time he bought something for himself in a long damn time. He deserved it. He had been working his ass off all these months and had nothing but a house, a mattress and a chair. Yeah...he told himself again, he deserved to spend a little money on himself...though there was still a small part of him that felt guilty, and that part kept poking him in the ribs telling him he didn’t deserve anything. He deserved exactly what he got because he was hideous, too hideous to love, which was why he should just stay in his house and never go out. 

He walked swiftly, as if trying to run away from his intrusive thoughts, his long legs cutting the distance until he came to the store’s double glass doors. He started to walk through, relying on the technology in place to have the doors sense him and open on their own, but at the last second, just before Bog would have crashed into the doors he stopped, his nose lightly bumping against the door when the damn things didn’t slide open. Bog took a startled step backwards narrowing his blue eyes at the doors and muttered something under his breath. As if the curse had the power to move objects, the doors opened. 

Bog took a cautious step forward, glanced sideways at the doors as if waiting for them to pull a trick on him and slide shut again. He moved slowly, taking one step with his long legs, stepping out far, then hopped through the doors. He glanced back at them and grinned as if he had pulled something over on the moving doors. 

* 

Marianne tried not to yawn. She was working over in the home entertainment center of the store, which was close to the front doors when she saw the very thin, tall man hop through the automatic doors. She had seen him run into the doors, which had drawn her attention to him, but then watching him jump through the doors like they were going to get him made her grin. He was handsome...like…”wow handsome” she thought. She liked his hair, dark like midnight and the long, sharp unshaven face. Her brown eyes traveled up his body giving him a very slow once over. Wow she thought again. 

Marianne had broken up with her boyfriend five months ago after she found Roland in the back of the shop making out with Leslie who worked over in appliances. She had been in a funk ever since. She had realized at that moment that maybe she hadn’t really loved Roland...but it still hurt for him to cheat on her like that, to make her feel so...like...nothing. Since then she had been pretty much hanging out at home eating ice cream and watching stupid romantic movies and making herself cry. 

But suddenly, seeing this tall, slim man walk into the store...just the way he had hopped in, the grin he had on his face...every nerve in her body came alive. 

* 

Bog turned and his mouth dropped open when he saw the home entertainment section. It was like a high-tech wonderland. He had really never seen anything like it! The displays of televisions, speakers, blu ray players, 3D TVs, 4K...it was a LOT of information to process. Bog had just thought new TV, but now that he was here, the possibilities were endless. 

He walked over to that section of the store with a slightly dazed expression on his features. 

Marianne glanced around quickly as she saw the tall man walking over slowly. She grinned and a quick glance around told her that no one else had seen him. It wasn’t that they worked on commission--they didn’t--but she wanted to help him… 

Marianne hurriedly left her spot behind the information and register area and rushed over stopping in front of the tall man. This close she was almost overwhelmed by how tall he was!! He was way taller than she had thought, like an NBA player. She grinned. 

“Hello! Welcome to Primrose Entertainment Megacenter!! How can I help you today?” Marianne said brightly with a broad smile. 

Bog looked down and nearly stumbled over himself. The most beautiful, gorgeous, heavenly, stunning...there were so many adjectives he could think of to describe the petite woman with the large brown eyes and adorable punky hair and bright purple sneakers, who had stopped in front of him. He knew his mouth was hanging open, which he snapped shut with an audible click of his teeth. The pretty woman was wearing a blue polo with the store’s name stitched across the left breast; her name tag pinned underneath which read “Marianne.” 

Bog thought that was the most beautiful name ever. 

He smiled as he reached up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. “Ah, yeah. Hi...ah, I’m looking for a TV?” 

Bog winced. Why had he phrased that like a question??? 

Marianne grinned. “Great. I’m Marianne.” She put her hand out to him. Bog took her hand, his long fingers wrapped around her hand, the tips brushing the underside of her wrist momentarily, a soft, gentle tickly along the sensitive skin of her wrist. 

Marianne felt herself swoon. 

“Ah, Bog...my name is Bog.” He blushed still holding onto her hand. 

Marianne gazed up at him with a grin. “That's unusual.” 

He shrugged. “My Mam and Dad were odd.” 

She smiled. “I like it.” 

The tall man blushed again. Marianne already liked him as she held his hand still, to start to walk over to what looked to Bog like millions and millions of television gadgets. 

“I...I don’t even know where to begin,” Bog said in a hushed tone. 

Marianne grinned and held her hand out to the side. “Welcome to the world of entertainment wonder.” 

She turned and started to point at various pieces of equipment. “We have everything you could possibly need for the best in home entertainment.” She wanted to impress him with how much she knew about hooking up a killer system, so she let herself run at the mouth a little. 

“There’s the DVD, the CD, the DVR, the LD, a receiver, and cables, tv cables, satellite dish, speakers, bluray, hdmi…” Marianne stopped when she saw the blank and slightly frightened look on Bog’s face. 

Bog asked. “Can you just...ah pick things out for me and stick them in the cart?” 

Marianne smiled, blushing at the same time when she realized she was still holding his hand, which she quickly dropped. “Sure. Let me go grab you a cart.” 

Bog watched her jog off. For a moment his eyes wandered to her backside...and quickly up again. He turned around, completely embarrassed. The young woman hurried back a moment later with a cart. She handed it off to Bog with a smile. He didn’t seem to know at all what he was looking for so Marianne pressed her lips together then decided to try another tactic. 

“What do you want to watch?” 

Bog smiled shyly. “I haven't watched a football game in a while so I thought I might...you know...well…” He shrugged, his shoulders and face conveying how bashful he felt. “I haven’t seen a lot of movies either, so I thought maybe I might rent some…and ah...spend a little money on myself.” 

Marianne cringed inside. Oh crap, she thought, he probably has a hot girlfriend. Marianne tried not to let her worried thoughts that she might have made an idiot out of herself translate onto her face as she walked beside him while he pushed the cart. “How about we look at the televisions we have to offer? See if any are a good fit for you?” She asked and smiled with what she hoped was a supportive tone and expression. 

Bog nodded. “That sounds good.” 

They walked side by side, with Marianne occasionally stopping to pick something off a display, some wires, some sort of electronic, futuristic looking box, and place them in the cart. The only thing he recognized were the speakers which he assumed were for surround sound and the batteries which he assumed were for the remote control. 

“So, you and your wife like football?” she asked when they stopped in front of three rows of TV sets all of them playing the same movie. Bog didn’t recognize the movie, but it was colorful, maybe an animated feature. He hadn’t seen an animated movie in ages. He used to love them before Tammy had put a stop to that, telling him that a man of his age shouldn’t be watching cartoons. Bog had let her make those decisions about their entertainment, but truth be told he had enjoyed a beautifully animated movie as much as any kid, and he still did. 

Bog stepped forward, his eyes going wide as he looked at the quality, size and number of sets there were to choose from; it was a little overwhelming to say the least. 

While Bog stood and stared at the televisions, his hands in his pockets, Marianne couldn’t help but stare at him. She liked his sharp profile a lot. The long pointed nose, sharp chin, a really nice smile... 

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend...we ah...broke up a while ago. I live alone,” Bog said as he reached out and touched the screen of one of the televisions, studying the picture. 

Marianne felt her heart rush up into her throat then slam back down again into her chest. He was single? He was single!! She thought. She blinked a few times like she had been hit in the gut. How on earth could he be single? She grinned, then stifled her completely unprofessional response of “Yippee!!” Instead she uttered an ineffectual. “Oh?” 

Bog glanced over giving her a shy smile, slumping just a little. “I know, hard to believe a guy like me had a girlfriend.” 

“No. No! I mean I’m surprised…” she swallowed glancing down at her purple sneakers. “That you’re single. Anyway...let me show you what we have…” 

The two of them started to walk down the aisle looking at the TV sets, pushing the cart along. 

Marianne asked. “So, what kind of TV do you have now?” 

Bog glanced over at her. “I don’t really have one. She took everything when she left, my clothes, books...anyway...she left me a broken TV and an armchair.” He muttered turning back to the televisions clearly embarrassed from having admitted such a thing to a stranger. He tried to cover his confession with a smile. “So I’m open to anything.” 

That was the moment the two of them came across the 40 inch 4k Ultra LED smart TV. Bog stopped and stared at the television with a lopsided grin and a whispered. “Wow.” 

Marianne grinned, but she felt that it was her responsibility to tell him about the more reasonably priced televisions they had available. 

“We have some smaller ones that might be more suited…” Marianne watched as Bog, pushing his cart to the side, walked over like a man in a dream to the largest TV that Primrose Entertainment Megacenter had to offer. The television was an 88 inch LED 2160p 4K UHD smart TV with HDR. The television ran up to $19,999.99. 

Bog stopped in front of the humongous TV and stared. 

Marianne hurried over to stand beside him. “It’s pretty amazing huh?” 

Bog stared at the tv and whispered. “I love you.” 

Marianne blinked and blushed bright red for a moment until she realized he was whispering it to the television. She giggled and Bog turned to look at her with a goofy grin. Marianne licked her lips staring at him and that smile. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. 

Bog blushed. “I know that’s a God awful lot of money, but…” 

Marianne smiled gently at him. “Hey, you only live once and if you want to buy yourself a huge TV, especially after losing everything...you deserve it.” She nodded her head curtly. 

Bog blushed. “Do you really think so?” 

Marianne nodded. She wasn’t just trying to sell him anything...she just wanted this adorable man who had clearly been treated poorly to have something fun that he wanted and if that was a giant ass tv, then he deserved a giant ass tv. 

“Yes. I do,” Marianne said firmly. 

Bog grinned with a nod. “I’ll take this one.” 

Marianne thought to herself, oh...I’ll take you...she blinked as her cheeks, forehead, ears, and the rest of her face felt hot. She was certain that her face must be red at this point. 

“Okay then, well...let’s ring you up.” 

* 

The following day, Bog--dressed in clean jeans and a simple black t-shirt--was pacing his empty house. 

He was excited about getting his new television and all the bells and whistles, but he was also annoyed with himself. He had left the store without getting Marianne’s phone number. He had wanted to...badly, but between the massive purchase and his own nerves, he had left the store without asking. 

He had thought about calling the store to talk to her...but he had quickly talked himself out of it. He couldn't think of a good reason to call and ask for her and he didn’t want her to think he was some sort of stalking creep either. Bog sighed in frustration. 

Of course, she probably would have said no, he thought to himself...but shouldn’t he have at least tried? Bog frowned to himself and sighed. He should just focus on the delivery. 

He had cleaned the house, which hadn’t been much of a chore considering he didn’t own anything but a broken down tv and an arm chair, but he did the best he could. He had even gone out yesterday and purchased a six pack of beer, some potato chips and some dip and a small round side table so he could sit and actually enjoy a game on his new television. 

* 

Bog waited. And waited. And waited. 

He knew delivery was supposed to be anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., but apparently they meant at 4:55 pm. 

Bog had just given up and was sitting on the floor under his front window drinking a beer when he heard a truck rambling down the street and come to a screeching halt followed by the yelling of one of his neighbors. Bog narrowed his eyes. It was old lady Plum; he could tell her high pitched voice anywhere and the shrill, annoying bark of her white rat of a dog, Imp. He slowly pushed himself up to his feet and turned to look out the window. There in a bright white and purple truck was a Primrose Entertainment Megacenter delivery truck. 

Bog grinned setting his beer down and opened the door. 

The man who came to the door was at least Bog’s height, but where Bog was slim to the point of skinny, this man the size of at least two sumo wrestlers, with muscled arms the size of at least both of Bog’s thighs. Bog immediately thought “tree trunk” arms. 

The frighteningly large man wore a Primrose Entertainment Megacenter uniform with a blue baseball cap that also had the name of the store on the cap and a name tag that read “Brutus.” Brutus held a clipboard in one of his thick fingered massive hands. He flipped the paper on the board over and glanced up. 

“Bog King?” 

Bog nodded. “Yes.” 

“Okay, just stand back sir.” Brutus grinned showing off rows of amazingly white, straight teeth before he headed over to the truck. Bog whispered softly to himself, “They have a Hulk.” 

Within minutes, Brutus and another delivery man of roughly equal size named Randall, had filled Bog’s living room with so many brown cardboard boxes that Bog could barely move around the room. 

Bog grinned and murmured to himself, “It’s like Christmas.” 

* 

Back at Primrose Entertainment Megacenter, Marianne glanced down at her watch. Bog should be getting his delivery soon she thought. She was contemplating calling to make sure he had gotten everything or to ask if he needed any help with set up, but she didn’t. She really wanted to, but she felt awkward. She pulled her cellphone out her back pocket, glanced down at the copy of his order form. It was really unprofessional… 

She heard a cheery voice from behind her. “Hey sis!” 

Marianne turned to see her little sister Dawn and Dawn’s boyfriend Sunny come through the sliding glass doors of the store. 

“Hey! What are you two doing here?” Marianne slipped her phone into her back pocket. 

Dawn grinned. “Sunny is gonna buy that new Nintendo system so we can play Mario Kart together!” 

Sunny grinned. “Yeah, your sister talked me into it.” 

Dawn smiled. “What are you up to sis?” 

Marianne shrugged. “Oh nothing.” 

Dawn gave her a shrewd look. “It’s that guy you told me about isn’t it? The one who bought the huge TV yesterday. The one you thought about calling, but then didn’t...isn’t it?” 

Marianne motioned at her sister to be quiet. “Shh!! If management knew I was thinking about calling a customer...” 

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Why haven’t you called him yet?” 

“I don’t know...felt weird.” Marianne smiled. “You know...nevermind. I still have a few minutes of work left, why don’t I show you two the gaming systems?” 

Dawn and Sunny smiled. “Sure thing sis...but don’t think you’ve thrown me off...I won’t forget.” 

Marianne laughed. “Great, my sister the elephant.” 

* 

Bog had opened all the boxes with his pocket knife and now sat on the floor, cross legged, surrounded by packing popcorn and with the massive instruction manual on the floor in front of him. Bog had fully unfolded the manual and was now staring at it as if the whole thing had been written in sanskrit. He pressed his lips together, his gaze roaming over the mess wondering where he should begin. 

Bog pushed himself up deciding the best place to start was with the audio/visual cables. It took him several minutes of digging around through the mess that was now his living room to find the molded, sealed hard plastic packaging. Bog shifted the package around, looking for a way to open it. He fumbled with it, trying to pull it apart, before he grabbed it with his teeth and tried to pull the plastic in two. He searched around for some scissors in the kitchen which he tried cutting the packaging with, but the scissor only seemed to scrape the packaging. Next, Bog grabbed his pocket knife (which he had used to open the boxes) and tried to stab the plastic only to have his blade scrape across the smooth plastic. 

Bog narrowed his eyes. “I will not be beaten by a plastic package.” 

He pulled one of the kitchen drawers open and yanked out a hammer. He brought the hammer down on the plastic only to have the damn thing go flying off the counter, while his hammer slammed down on the countertop...damaging the surface. 

Bog snarled and turned in the next instant to see the plastic package of audio/visual cables fly across the room to slam into the wall...and simply pop open spilling the red, blue and black cables all over the floor. 

Bog sighed. 

* 

Bog struggled with the TV, trying to pull the damn thing back so he could get to the back of the massive device where he was supposed to connect the cable. The television was damn heavy as Bog struggled to slip behind it, but once he had squeezed his way behind the television, he realized he had no idea where everything went… 

He pushed himself back out and hurried over to the manual. He picked it up and flipped through it wrinkling his nose in frustration and confusion. It was all so...technical. Bog stood still for a moment in the winter landscape consisting of packing popcorn and mountains of boxes that now dominated his living room. 

Maybe he should call the store...ask for some help...maybe Marianne would pick up the phone. 

* 

Marianne yawned. She had just finished checking out her sister and Sunny when the phone beside the register rang. She picked it up without thinking, moving on automatic, since was was supposed to have clocked out fifteen minutes ago. 

“Hello, this is Primrose Entertainment Megacenter; this is Marianne, how can I help you?” she said with the all-too-typical tired retail voice. 

“Marianne? Ah...this is Bog King. I don’t know if you remember me from the other day, but...I was hoping I could get some help?” Bog voice made little ripples of pleasure run up her spine and her heart pounded against her breastbone. 

(On the other end of the call, Bog gripped his phone even harder when Marianne answered. He couldn’t believe he had been that lucky that she was the one to actually answer the phone!) 

“Yes, I remember you Bog! You need help?” Marianne was grinning ear to ear as she leaned against the counter. 

Bog sounded embarrassed as he answered. “Yeah...ah...everything was delivered today just fine, but...ah...I have no idea what I’m doing and the manual makes no sense. I was wondering if there was a set up person I could talk to or something…” 

Marianne looked around, but no other employees were close by. She grinned and said. “Ah, if you want, I could come by and help you out.” 

Bog sounded thrilled and relieved. “You would do that?” 

Marianne smiled brightly. “Sure thing! I’ll be right over!” 

Bog let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Ah, do you need my address or do you have it there?” 

Marianne grinned. “I can look it up. I’ll be right there.” 

Marianne hung up, suppressing a squeal of delight. 

(Bog was grinning from ear to ear when he hung up.) 

* 

When Marianne arrived, still in her uniform (she had thought about going home and changing, but decided against it at the last minute.) She was shocked at the amount of packing popcorn that dominated the living room along with the mountains of boxes. Bog held the door open for her and blushed. 

“Sorry about the mess…” 

Marianne smiled up at him, setting her purse down by the door. “It’s fine. So, let’s see what we have and get you hooked up.” 

Bog smiled. “Thank you Marianne.” 

* 

Marianne watched with an amused grin as Bog leaned over, then climbed entirely into the box as he reached in to pull out the sound system she had sold him. Bog started to pull out speakers, handing them blindly to Marianne. 

She laughed when she heard him mutter. “I don’t remember buying this many speakers...I’m going to go deaf.” 

Marianne set the speakers in their positions around the television, aimed at Bog’s chair. “You don’t have to have them all on all the time when you’re watching, but I promise, when you are watching a live game or a really scary movie, these are going to be great! Just be careful with that subwoofer...that thing can blow out your windows!” 

Bog came up out of the box, popcorn stuck in his hair. He smiled at her. “I’m sure you’re right and I’ll be careful. Don’t want Ms. Plum and her dog Imp coming over complaining.” 

“Imp?” Marianne asked as Bog watched her expertly hooking up wires and speakers. She really knew what she was doing...and she looked gorgeous doing it, he thought which made him look away from her. 

“Imp is her dog. I don’t know if it really qualifies as a dog...it’s small, white and makes the worst noise I have ever heard,” Bog muttered. 

Marianne laughed. “Sounds interesting.” 

Bog shuddered. “I promise, after hearing her dog and its weird bark for a few hours, you won’t think it’s interesting at all.” 

Marianne giggled, but part of her was jumping up and down. He had said that like he expected her to come over again. Yes please she thought. “Okay, let's get these small speakers hung on the wall.” 

Bog nodded looking around his living room. “This is gonna be epic when we’re done.” 

Marianne laughed. “It sure is.” 

Bog stopped. He had just picked up a couple of the speakers and was looking around for a good place to mount them when he turned to her, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. 

“Ah...would you like to stay for the game? I mean...check out how everything works...maybe?” 

Marianne, who had walked a speaker over to the corner of the room, turned to face him. 

Bog waited, his eyes widening in horror at the fact that he had asked her to stay when Marianne grinned. “I would love to Bog. Thank you.” 

Bog blushed then nodded. “Yeah...ah...okay.” 

He turned and quickly retreated to the kitchen to look for a hammer and nails hoping that his ex hadn’t taken those too. 

* 

An hour later everything was set up. It wasn’t the prettiest put together entertainment system or entertainment “room” considering the size of Bog’s living room, but it was done. The once empty room was now dominated by a television that took up nearly the entirety of one wall. Speakers were everywhere around the room making the small space resemble a recording room rather than a living room with one green armchair in the middle with a small end table that held a bowl of chips and dip and nothing else. 

Marianne and Bog were standing at the other end of the room, near the kitchen, each with a bottle of beer looking at the strange assembly of high tech entertainment. 

Bog grinned, taking a sip of his beer. “Thanks Marianne.” 

She smiled. “You are very welcome Bog. Hey...what time is the game?” 

Bog blinked yanking his phone from his back pocket. “Crap! Where’s the remote!” 

Bog handed his beer to Marianne and dashed over to where they had set the remotes...to everything. The remotes lay in a corner of the room....there were so many that 

Bog just stared and muttered. “Oh hell.” 

He dropped to his knees and started to search the remotes for the TV remote, though all the remote controls looked all-too similar. 

Marianne piped up. “I put a universal remote in your cart. You should have it. It’s a huge one, makes about two or three of one of these…” She had just pointed at the other remotes when Bog hopped to his feet. Marianne watched him as he raced over to the armchair grabbing a remote he had set there. For a moment he held it up like he had just pulled the sword out of the stone. 

“Ahhhhhh…” Bog laughed as he made the sound of angels singing down. 

Marianne laughed picking up Bog’s beer and walking over. “And God granted man the universal remote and it was good!” 

Chuckling, Bog flopped down on the floor in front of his armchair smiling at Marianne as she came over and handed him his beer. She grabbed the bowl of chips and set them down in front of them, then grabbed the dip before she sat down on the floor next to him, their knees touching. 

Bog set the remote on his lap smiling at her. He held his beer out to her. 

“To modern television.” 

Marianne laughed. “To 4k being clearer than real life.” 

They clinked the tops of their beer bottles. 

Bog smiled. “Hey...ah...thanks for helping me out.” 

Marianne smiled. “Thanks for asking me to stay to watch the game.” 

Bog glanced down then said softly. “Ah...maybe you could ah...come over again? Watch another game...maybe show me how to hook up a game system?” 

Marianne grinned. “I would like that Bog. You ever play Mario Kart?” 

Bog laughed. “Not in a long time, but maybe you could teach me?” 

“I would love to Bog,” Marianne said softly. 

He glanced sideways at her with a smile before he picked up the remote and turned on the television filling the room with the bright vibrant glow as the game--already in progress--came into focus and the sounds of the announcer calling out the play that had just happened. 

Marianne took a sip of her beer, glancing at Bog and bumped his shoulder. 

Bog grinned, felt emboldened, and reached over to take her hand. 

Together they sat and watched the game, first just sitting next to each other, but soon were leaning against each other and smiling.


End file.
